Updated 24 March 2020 (on 23 March 2020, the Department for Transportation issued new guidance extending the relaxation until 21 April and will apply to all road haulage operations.)

Last week, the Department for Transportation issued new guidance to fleets in response to the COVID19 - or Coronavirus - outbreak. On Wednesday (18 March 2020), the Department for Transport temporarily relaxed the EU drivers hours rules for drivers involved in the delivery of essential items to retailers. Then, on Thursday (19 March 2020), they also temporarily relaxed the rules for drivers involved in the delivery of essential items to consumers. On 23 March, this guidance was extended to cover anyone undertaking the movement of goods by road.

In this unusual time for our nation and the people who keep it running, we know that many of our customers will use this relaxation to efficiently deliver critical goods and personnel. At Samsara, we want to ensure that you’re equipped with the right tools to keep your team safe and maintain operations throughout this period. 

We’ve put together an FAQ to help you understand if these guidances apply to your fleet’s operations and how to navigate this change with Samsara:

• <a href="#question1">Does this relaxation of drivers' hours rules apply to my fleet’s operations?</a>

• <a href="#question2">What is changing under this relaxation guidance?</a>

• <a href="#question3">If the relaxation does apply to my operations, how should I indicate this using Samsara’s tachograph product? </a>

• <a href="#question4">How long is this relaxation of drivers' hours expected to last?</a>

• <a href="#question5">Where should I go if I have questions about the guidance or how to account for it using Samsara’s tachograph product?</a>

For additional support, our team is available to help 24/7.

<div id="question1">Does this relaxation of drivers' hours rules apply to my fleet’s operations? </div>

The Department for Transportation current guidance applies to fleets that are delivering essential items to retailers and directly to customers. In both cases, drivers must be transporting materials in support of emergency relief efforts related to the COVID-19 outbreaks, including transportation for medical supplies, food and relevant non-food items like personal care, household paper, and cleaning supplies. 

For vehicles delivering to retailers, the new guidance applies on the following journeys:

• Distribution centre to stores (or fulfilment centre)

• From manufacturer or supplier to distribution centre (including backhaul collections)

• From manufacturer or supplier to store (or fulfilment centre)

• Between distribution centres and transport hub trunking

• Transport hub deliveries to stores

For vehicles delivering to consumers, the new guidance applies on the following journeys:

• Manufacturer to consumer’s home

• Stores / distribution centre to consumer’s home

• Supplier to consumer’s home

• Fulfilment centre to consumer’s home

• Retailer to consumer’s home

Please refer to the guidance for drivers delivering to retailers and the guidance for drivers delivering to consumers for more details.

<div id="question2">What is changing under this relaxation guidance?</div>

For drivers transporting goods to retailers, the EU drivers’ hours rules can be temporarily relaxed as follows:

a) Replacement of the EU daily driving limit of 9 hours with one of 11 hours;

b) Reduction of the daily rest requirements from 11 to 9 hours;

c) Lifting the weekly driving limit from 56 hours to 60 hours and fortnightly driving limits from 90 hours to 96 hours;

d) Postponement of the requirement to start a weekly rest period after six-24 hours periods, for after seven 24 hours period; although two regular weekly rest periods or a regular and a reduced weekly rest period will still be required within a fortnight;

e) The requirements for daily breaks of 45 minutes after 4.5 hours driving can be replaced with a break of 45 minutes after 5.5 hours of driving.

Drivers’ must not use relaxation ‘a’ and ‘d’ at the same time. This is to ensure drivers are able to get adequate rest and to stay safe on the roads.

For drivers transporting goods to consumers, the GB drivers’ hours rules can be temporarily relaxed as follows:

a) Replacement of the GB duty time limit of 11 hours with 12 hours.

b) Replacement of the GB daily driving time limit of 10 hours with 11 hours.

Drivers can only take advantage of this temporary relaxation 5 days in any 7 day period, and must take a rest period of 24 hours within the same 7 day period when taking advantage of this relaxation.

<div id="question3">If the suspension does apply to my operations, how should I indicate this using Samsara’s tachograph product?</div>

We recommend that fleet managers and drivers in question make note of this relaxation and why they exceeded the normally permitted limits on the back of the printed infringement reports. 

Fleets can use tags to keep track of drivers who are currently engaged in transporting emergency loads that qualify for the relaxation. This will make it easier to separately print out the infringement reports and mark them as exempt.

<div id="question4">How long is this relaxation expected to last?</div>

The timeline is different depending on if your fleet is delivering to retailers or to consumers. 

For drivers transporting essential goods to retailers, the relaxation will be in effect from Wednesday 18 March 2020 until Thursday 16 April 2020. The Department may withdraw the relaxation before that date or extend the relaxation if circumstances change. 

For drivers transporting goods directly to consumers, the relaxation is in effect from the 20 of March to the 3rd of April. It will be reviewed on the 25th of March and can be extended or withdrawn at any date if circumstances change.

Please refer to the guidance issued by the Department for Transportation for more details. We will continue to update this post as we learn more, as well.

<div id="question5">Where should I go if I have questions about the declaration or how to account for it using Samsara’s tachograph product?</div>

For questions related to using Samsara’s tachograph product in response to this guidance, please reach out to our support teams at www.samsara.com/help. For questions related to the guidance itself (whether it applies to your operations, etc.), please contact:

The Freight Operator Licensing & Roadworthiness Division at the Department for Transport via the switchboard on 0207 944 3000 (during office hours) or to the DfT Duty Office on 0207 944 5999 (out of office hours).

Thank you for your work

We hope you and your teams are staying safe and we thank you for the work that you are doing to help support our country throughout this time. Your work is playing an integral role in sustaining people across the nation and our team wants to provide help wherever we can to ease your operations. If you or your drivers need additional assistance, our team is available to help  24/7.